Sick Days
by Kifo Entiegon
Summary: It's not often that the ninja get sick, but when it does happen, it's usually one of two ways. Either it goes off like a bomb and everyone gets sick at the same time... or the ninja decide to play a dangerous game of pass-the-parcel. This day had to be the worst. One-shot. Rated T for safety.


**I have no idea where this came from. One minute I'm reading Ninjago fan fiction, the next thing I know this has popped into my head. I wasn't even reading anything to do with sickness, either. But then it occurred to me that the ninja don't seem to get sick. So, I kept writing. Now I just hope I've gotten everyone in character.**

**I do not own anything to do with Ninjago.**

* * *

_**Sick Days**_

This day had to be the worst.

First, he had his butt handed to him by one of the training dummies… in under a minute of starting training. Then the television short-circuited so he couldn't even play video games while he waited for the others to finish training. Now he couldn't even eat the most precious thing ever made in Ninjago… Zane's triple chocolate devil cake.

Or anything else for that matter.

How he was managing to keep the glass of water down was a surprise even to him. But that was the only thing his stomach would let in. And it was a pain.

He had barely managed to get down the few slices of toast he had forced himself to make for breakfast despite the odd glances the others were giving him. And the juice he had with it felt like acid in his throat. Needless to say, the juice (and the toast) tasted a lot worse coming back up… especially all over the ground that he had been sprawled on thanks to the knock he had received.

Zane and Lloyd had to help him get up once he was done emptying his stomach, he was shaking that much. Almost like he was caught in the middle of an earthquake that he had lost control over. At least, that was what it felt like to him. They managed to coax him to rest in the lounge room while the others cleaned the training area, Zane leaving him with a glass of water and Lloyd fetching him a bucket in case he wasn't able to make it to the bathroom in time.

The worst part about it all was that he felt like he needed to do something. Sitting on the couch, barely focusing on the game he was trying to play, he actually felt useless. He needed to train so he could be strong for his team, be the rock that his friends would need him to be when the next battle came around. Not sick.

It was after he had to clean the bucket the first time that the television short-circuited. And he was just about to reach a new high score for himself, too. Now, usually he wasn't like Kai, but he couldn't help but throw the controller at the now useless television. Thanks to the power outage, he couldn't even watch something on the normal channels if he wanted to.

Unfortunately, the motion of throwing the controller made his head dizzy, which in turn forced him to go for the bucket again. By this time, he was sure he was only bringing up bile. He was too grossed out to even care, though. And the fact that his head was pounding just seemed to make things worse. Finally, after what felt like forever, he was able to stop retching… only to find that he was out of water.

That led him to shakily make his way into the kitchen where he cleaned out the bucket and got himself some more water. He would have gone to the laundry to clean the bucket, but it was too far away and he was extremely weak… the one thing he hated being because it just didn't feel right. He hoped the others didn't mind when they walked into the kitchen next.

He had been about to find a place where he could sit and stop himself from swaying and possibly falling over when he noticed the chocolate cake resting under the lid of a clear cake stand on the kitchen counter. The cake had a glossy chocolate glaze with white chocolate pieces and red raspberries on top. And he knew that Zane had made the three layers in the three flavours of chocolate because he had seen the Master of Ice making the cake the night before.

Now, he stood in front of the cake with a forgotten glass of water in his hand, a pained look on his face, a head that couldn't decide if it wanted to pound in time with his heart or if it wanted to be light and dizzy, and a body that would not stop shaking. The only reason why he didn't just go ahead and take a slice of the cake there and then was because he knew he wouldn't enjoy it.

Well… that and he would probably just throw it up again into the bucket he only just remembered he was holding.

" Cole? What are you doing?"

The voice was calm and gentle, but it seemed so loud that it sent shockwaves through his head. He couldn't even make out who had spoken. Slowly, the Master of Earth turned to face the kitchen entrance. There, looking hot and bothered and slightly concerned, were his friends. Training must have finished. He hadn't even heard them coming down the hallway.

" Needed more water." He said, his voice quiet and raspy.

He stumbled a little as he completed his turn, making the nearest ninja rush over to him and help guide him to a nearby seat. Surprisingly, it was Jay. And he looked a little more worried than the others when he felt how sweaty his friend was.

" I think you need to be in bed." Kai was saying as Jay sat him down at the table.

" Yeah… maybe…" He replied, noting the weight of Jay's hand on his shoulder.

" Come on, big guy. Let's get you some sleep." The blue ninja said, though not trying to hurry his friend.

" Give me a minute."

They waited a good ten minutes, knowing full well that, seconds after he had spoken, Cole had closed his eyes and fallen asleep in the chair. And they didn't want to wake him – despite his uncomfortable looking choice of bed – because they all knew he needed all the sleep he could get if he was to get over whatever it was he had. Jay even managed to ease the glass and the bucket out of his friend's grasp and place them on the table before they accidentally slipped free.

Seeing that nothing else could be done, Zane went into the kitchen to start making lunch. The others took up seats around the table, each one keeping a concerned eye on their ill friend. Kai and Lloyd even looked surprised at the fact that Cole had yet to topple in his sleep, somehow remaining seated with his head to his chest.

But it was as the now finished lunch was being placed around the table that Cole woke with a start. And judging by the pained look in his eyes, he was about to be sick again. How the Master of Earth managed to grab the bucket and move away from the table with the speed that he did was a surprise to them all, but that surprise was quickly replaced with concern at the disturbing sound that soon followed from the far corner of the kitchen.

Nya got up from the table and grabbed the glass of water that Cole had left behind. When she felt that her friend was almost done, she made her appearance by his side.

" Take it easy." She soothed, handing Cole the glass of water.

He took the glass with a shaky hand but was grateful, nonetheless. When he felt he was ready, he got to his feet. He just wasn't sure if he should clean the bucket out again or just go straight to bed like Kai had suggested earlier. His answer came when Zane got up from his place at the table and walked over to them.

" I'll clean this. You go rest." The nindroid said with a small smile.

Cole could only give him a small nod before Nya was by his side and guiding him to his room. But he couldn't help it when he stumbled to a halt in front of the cake. The cake he knew he couldn't eat or else he would be sick again. Oh, how he wanted a piece of that cake. He was brought out of his fantasy by the sound of Zane's voice.

" Do not worry, brother. I will make sure there is some cake left for you to enjoy when you are feeling better."

This time, Cole managed a weak smile towards the nindroid before being led to his room. It was a painful walk, surprisingly, and he would have to stop on occasion just to steady himself. But Nya was patient with him. He also felt a little guilty that he was keeping his friend from her lunch.

" Don't worry about me, Cole." She said when they had gotten halfway down the hallway, guessing at the guilt in his eyes. " I just want to make sure that you get better. We all do."

When they finally got to his room, neither of the two bothered to turn the light on. Cole was grateful at that. He could have sworn his head was going to explode if the lights were turned on. But Nya quietly led him to the edge of his bed where he pulled down the covers and tucked himself in. He had just enough time to witness Nya placing the glass of water on his nightstand before his eyes closed and he fell victim to sleep. Not even when Zane entered the room with the now cleaned bucket did the Master of Earth stir.

* * *

It was two days later that Cole woke up feeling a lot better than he had in the past few days.

He had woken up during the middle of the first night only to rush down to the bathroom, waking both Zane and Kai in the process. The Master of Fire didn't look too happy about being woken up at that hour, but it quickly changed to concern when he saw the state of his friend over the toilet bowl. Cole only just managed to hear Zane send their friend back to bed before the Master of Ice turned his full attention to the ailing ninja.

The day before, he had spent most of his time in bed. Only once did he actually get up and head into the kitchen to get himself some more water and that was during lunch time. The others were concerned for his wellbeing, but they were also relieved at the fact that he looked a little better than he had the previous day.

They also forced him back to bed to sleep off the stomach bug he had after he started throwing up into the kitchen sink. Not to mention, he couldn't stop himself from apologising to them all the way down the hallway.

Now, he felt like he could use some food in his stomach.

Making his way slowly but easily into the kitchen, he noted that the other ninja were probably out training, if the silence surrounding him meant anything. He hoped that he would be able to get back to training with them all tomorrow. But he also knew that there was no way he was going to be able to train if he couldn't, at the very least, manage to keep some buttered toast down. So he got to work making himself something to eat.

He just didn't realise how close it was to lunch time. By the time he had sat himself at the table with his toast, he heard footsteps coming down the hallway. He had just taken a bite of his food when he heard the excitement in his friends' voices.

" Cole!"

Cole couldn't help the weak smile from appearing on his face at the call of his name. He swallowed his mouthful before turning to face them.

" Hey guys." He said.

" How are you feeling, friend?" Zane asked.

" A lot better, that's for sure."

" Well, it's good to see you eating again." Jay said as he made his way into the kitchen, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder as he passed.

Lunch was made by Jay that day; fruit and sandwiches. Lloyd helped a little to get drinks for everyone. But as the others took their places around the table, Cole noticed that one of his teammates was missing. And even though it wasn't Zane making the food, he was fairly certain his friend would not miss out on Jay's cooking either.

" Where's Kai?" The Master of Earth asked once Jay and Lloyd were seated.

Nya gave a soft but faint smile. " He's in bed asleep."

This news confused Cole a little. He knew Kai wasn't one to enjoy waking up early, but he also never slept in this late before either. It was probably because he had been a blacksmith before becoming a ninja. Jay gave him one of his goofy grins that clearly meant there was some kind of trouble going around when he saw the look on his best friend's face.

" I think we're going to be playing a dangerous game of pass-the-parcel." He said with a smirk.

That explained it.

Kai was sick, too.


End file.
